‘I hope to mature by then,’ she said, and thought. ‘Why, am I not itching to share him with Roopa? Would it be any different sharing the kitchen with her?’
‘Given your sweet nature,’ he said affectionately, ‘I’m sure you would.’
For their first outing in the capital, that evening, they called on the Malhotras, members of Raja Rao’s bridge brigade.
‘Oh, you’ve a dealt GS for a wife,’ said Malhotra, obviously impressed with Sandhya. ‘I say, we missed you badly at Panaji.’
‘How did it all go?’ asked Raja Rao.
‘In the Swiss league,’ said Malhotra, ‘we failed to make it to the final round by just three VPs. I’m sure your presence would have seen us through.’
‘What’s with the progressive four?’ Raja Rao enquired.
‘It’s better forgotten but for MV Rao’s classic comment,’ laughed Malhotra boisterously.
‘What’s that?’ Raja Rao was curious.
‘Don’t you remember the ‘Queens of Trumps,’ began Malhotra mirthfully, ‘that ladies team from Bombay? They overbid LS against Sinha and Uday and went three shy. Nevertheless, as the worthy women eventually won the event, Sinha got ecstatic, as you know he would often. Then, he went on praising them, at the same time reminding that it was he who managed to give them a zero. Amused by Sinha’s raving, Rao garu pulled him aside and said, ‘Sinhasaab what’s so exciting about giving zeros to women? Had you conceded a ‘One’ to them or took ‘zeros’ from them, it would have been a cause for celebration, wouldn’t it have been?’
As Malhotra and Raja Rao laughed their hearts out, their women looked at each other in embarrassment.
‘How I have missed the fun of seeing Sinha’s face then,’ said Raja Rao as he calmed down.
‘You men and your filthy jokes,’ snarled Mrs. Malhotra.
‘Why, it’s the sexual subtlety that gives a cutting edge to party jokes,’ retorted Malhotra.
‘What else?’ said Raja Rao.
‘Mrs. Rajan was enquiring about you,’ informed Malhotra. ‘She still remembers the way you squeezed her hand at Madras last year.’
‘Mrs. Rao may wonder what this squeezing is all about,’ said Mrs. Malhotra in smile.
‘That’s why,’ said Malhotra, reaching for a couple of packs, ‘let’s initiate the bride into bridge right away.’
As the novice partnered the expert then, they had a long session at the table, followed by the North Indian culinary that satiated their palates as well.
‘With Mrs. Rajan,’ said Sandhya, as they left the Malhotras, ‘it should’ve been a pleasant experience even in bridge terms.’
‘It’s much more interesting from the human angle,’ said Raja Rao. ‘At Madras, last year, Malhotra and I chanced to play against a team from the Gymkhana Club. In the open room we had for our opponents Mrs. Rajan and her partner. Introductions over, I asked her whether she knew Hema, my cousin, who’s a regular at their club. Though she said she knew Hema, yet she didn’t enquire how I happened to know her. It was apparent that she shunned me for being a small fry and not for any lack of regard for my cousin.’